German Marshall Fund of the United States, February 4, 2014 Galip Dalay * A fierce power struggle between the governing AK Party and the Gülen Movement has dominated Turkey?s political scene, generating wide interest both domestically and internationally. Thus far, conjectural factors have been largely blamed for the crisis. Yet, it is the structural factors

Speaking with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Berlin on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the talks on Turkey’s EU accession as “open ended”. In view of the poor state of the rule of law in the country, some commentators even say the negotiations should be shelved. For others the meeting marks a fresh start in relations between Turkey and the EU.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan argued in Germany today that there were “five to ten” journalists in Turkish prisons. He also suggested that there were more journalists jailed in other EU countries.